


Eternal Journey

by Milkshake



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Canon Relationships, Multi, Scranton Strangler - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:44:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Milkshake/pseuds/Milkshake
Summary: Jim Halpert, Sales Rep at Dunder Mifflin, has been a lone vampire for the past 30 years. That is until he meets Pam.Pam Beesly, Receptionist at Dunder Mifflin, has been having deja vu all her life. That is until she meets Dwight.Dwight Schrute, Assistant Regional Manager at Dunder Mifflin, has been lucky to escape his family's curse. That is until he meets Jim.Essentially, Scranton is crawling with the supernatural in all its forms.





	1. Business School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim after the vampire prank on Dwight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta'd

On the drive home, Jim replayed the work day in his head. Michael had been gone most of the day as a guest speaker at Ryan's college. It meant that Jim was able to concentrate on his work. Not that he wouldn't have welcomed a distraction, but he did have to do some work to keep his job. Working at Dunder Mifflin kept him busy too. Most people didn't realize being a vampire could be boring. Which reminded him that tonight he needed to feed. Probably a lot. Pranking Dwight into thinking he was a vampire was hilarious, but better than that it was distracting. 

Pam and Roy were back together. 

The thought of them together would've stopped his heart if it was still beating. Which it shouldn't stop because he was dating Karen. Why did he have to keep reminding himself of that? He twisted his daylight ring as he walked up to his apartment building. Changing out of his clothes was the first thing he needed to do. Potentially cleaning blood out of his work clothes would be a hassle he didn't want to deal with. Once he had a dark grey hoodie and some sweatpants on, he got back into his car. It was a good thing he established a weekly "gym" workout. Before dating Karen, hiding Monday and Thursday feedings were easy. He hardly made any plans with his coworkers and he had few friends. A normal part of being a vampire, but now he had a human girlfriend, something that was more commonplace with vampires than not. Being around humans wasn't as hard as Hollywood would have you believe. He never fed from his girlfriends though, unlike his brothers before they found their mates.

Whenever he needed to feed he always did so out of town and always someplace different. He never visited the same place twice in the same year. Some nights he drove for hours until he found someplace that drew his interest. It was great that he didn't have to sleep so he could drive for hours and he only got tired if he hadn't eaten in a while. Which was part of the reason for his two weekly feedings. He was in enough control now that he didn't worry about killing anyone. If anyone cared, he was a considerate as he always ensured he licked the teeth marks closed so it wouldn't form a noticeable scar. It was a bit freaky to see the wounds closed. Not that having a scar was the only freaky thing he did. Hypnotizing someone into being complacent against their will as you physically assaulted them was enough of a violation that he didn't want to add physical scars into the mix. Besides if they noticed the wound then it would become something, and something always became a pattern and that pattern would probably mean Jim with a stake in his heart. Not that it was functioning as the organ should which was another freaky thing about being a vampire.

Most of what people knew about vampires was fake, but the whole sun and wooden stake business was definitely real. Plus the immortality. Sometimes touching wooden objects gave his skin this itchy feeling. Garlic was fine, holy water acted like regular water, he wasn't a supermodel but he did think he was pretty good looking, he didn't need to sleep in a coffin or hang from the ceiling, and he couldn't turn into a bunch of bats or any animal for that matter. He did have above normal strength and speed but not like the Hollywood blurring level, the hypnotizing effect to "catch" his prey (which had to be people, animals were unsatisfying and it took twice as much blood to feel half as full), his coordination was great, he didn't age and couldn't catch any diseases which meant he was only going to die from physical trauma. 

Oh, and he had a bat friend. Who was currently being taken in by "animal control" and overseen by Dwight. Served the flappy thing right, Jim had told him on multiple occasions to be careful. Chewing a hole so he could watch people in the office didn't count as careful. He knew being left at home for 8 hours was a no-go since they needed to be somewhat close to one another. The farther and longer they were away from each other strained their bond. Gaining a pet hadn't been on Jim's vampire list of things to do, but he was told these things often weren't. The bat he had named Jordan for obvious reasons had gotten trapped inside his house one day and when Jim had tried on four separate occasions to swat the thing out with a broom it kept finding a way back in.

When the wild animal had bitten him on the fifth attempt to get it out of his house, a bond had been formed. Not that Jim even knew that was what happened. Neither of his brothers had bonded with an animal and none of them had particularly cared to pursue that aspect of vampirism. After the bite Jim found he didn't care so much that a disease ridden animal was in his house, he actually wanted to pet it. And pet it he did. The thing was small and exactly like a bat should be covered in fur with leathery wings. It clung to his shirt and wouldn't let go for the first month. A good thing Jim hadn't been working at the time. Not that he had been entirely calm about the whole thing, just calmer after the bite. He still had went over to see Phyllis and ask about the whole situation.

"Oh! You've got yourself an eternal companion! Not very pretty, though it's fitting since you're, you know." Said the older looking woman. Phyllis' mother had been there for the Halpert brothers after they had been attacked in the 70's by a feral vampire. Instead of letting them die, she and her coven including her eldest daughter, Phyllis, had brought them back to the Scranton Rec Center. It was where they held their "Knitting Club" meetings. Ever since those terrible first couple of years where they had little control, the Halpert's had sworn allegiance with the witches for taking care of them.

It was known in the supernatural community that witches didn't associate with vampires. They might offer a few services for monetary payment since most vampires where old and accrued a fortune quickly with their lack of basic needs. So it was unusual that three vampires would offer protection and such to a coven as unpolitically aspiring as the Scranton Coven was. There had been some turf wars during that decade and it had probably been a mix of that threat and Maxine's own health problems that had led to her risky decision. In fact, it was actually illegal in the United States to allow individuals bitten by feral vampires to turn since they themselves would be just as feral, but Maxine was a brave and curious woman when it came to magic. Due to her techniques, they remained mindlessly bloodthirsty for the better half of a decade instead of forever. Maxine wasn't stupid either. Those first years were confusing for Jim and his brothers in their lucid moments. Being chained in a finished basement and given blood bags every day was confusing to the human mind. Not to their vampire instincts though. They knew the blood was to eat and the chains were to subdue. Occasionally, their meals tasted odd or even down right nasty, but they were hungry and would eat anything. Only later when they were one again ready to be invited into society, would Maxine tell them the coven had been adding different herbs to the blood to test if it had any affect on them. The thing about feral vampires was that they were mindless from not eating. Usually from being bitten by another feral vampire, but the origin was always from someone who had forgone consuming human blood to the point of starvation or from being held prisoner. Maxine had kept them as prisoners in a sense, but she had fed them and with the purpose to cure them of their feral mindsets. It was almost like a vampire flu, except instead of a runny nose there was an insatiable bloodlust. The herbs had been ones harmful to vampires, but at doses that wouldn't kill them. They were just so hungry constantly that they wouldn't turn down poisoned blood. Maxine wasn't exactly sure of what the science was behind it all, but she had figured that perhaps harming the body into needing to heal would jumpstart their vampiric immune systems or something. There was also the possibility of it having been psychological in nature as they began to associate eating as not very satisfying. Whatever it was, it worked and Maxine got to finally have her big moment in magical history before she passed.

Now, the coven was smaller as the generations went on and fewer daughters were born. Jim knew Phyllis regretted giving her daughter up for adoption, but didn't blame her in any way. She had been among the handful of witches of the Scranton Coven that had protested Maxine's continued care of the brothers. As a teenager she had abandoned her heritage to live without magic. That was until 1991 when Maxine finally succumbed to her bad health and the 27 year old had returned to the Scranton Coven to lead it. Phyllis had four other younger sisters, but it was tradition for the eldest to take over. From a young age Phyllis had been groomed for the position. At Maxine's funeral, Jim had watched from inside a car with tinted windows with his brothers as Phyllis led the procession. Tammy, who was the second oldest of the five Lapin sisters, had started the rituals and Jim had seen it in Phyllis when Tammy had assumed her position as the leader. Determination. Phyllis shouldered past her and took the forefront and after the Lutheran preacher had said his words, Phyllis threw the first handful of dirt. Later that same night, the Halpert's openly attended Maxine's Wiccan funeral service. It was Phyllis who led the whole service. Who spoke the blessings and finished Maxine's life wreath and laid it to rest upon her grave. 

Jim knew it was different for Phyllis. She could stop practicing at any moment despite her personal vows. He was going to drink blood forever. Phyllis had her coven of witches, but vampires were solitary creatures. They hardly ever formed groups or remained in the presence of another vampire for long. Even as brothers, the Halpert's naturally distanced themselves an hour drive away from one another. It was their separate territories. They met up every once in a while to catch each other up, but they never hunted together. That was a sure way to fight even if they were all reasonable people when blood didn't come into play. After the funeral a year passed before fate made itself known once again to the Halpert's. 

Tom had found his soulmate, Marcy, while taking a late night walk in Meadows Park. They had hit it off right away. It was uncomplicated between them and within six months of that night they were married. And pregnant. That had caused some trouble as they had all thought pregnancy would be impossible. Shooting blanks since they were immortal and all that. Phyllis had contacted her sister coven for more information and they didn't know anything about naturally born vampire children. When Vanessa Larissa Halpert was born on June 23, 1993 it was obvious to the three vampires that she was a Halpert through and through. It was an odd sensation seeing her for the first time. Almost like being wrapped with a blanket and Jim had felt protective of her. He knew Pete had felt the exact same as her other uncle. She was named after both of her deceased aunts and Jim respected the choice. Watching her grow up was neat as she behaved like any normal human would despite the diagnosis of anemia from her pediatrician. Tom made sure he fed her the right diet and didn't make her feel too bad about it.

That same night Pete had found his soulmate when Marcy went into labor and all the Halpert's had went to the hospital to wait for the arrival of their newest family member. Marcy had a short labor of three hours where she screamed at Tom the whole time and during it Jim and Pete had read the hospital magazines and kept an eye on the time. It would suck to be stuck in the hospital when dawn came. Pete had gotten up to stretch his legs for a couple minutes and when he came back he had a dopey look on his face. Pete's soulmate was a nurse from a neighboring hospital's maternity ward helping pick up some understaffed shifts. Just like Tom and Marcy, Pete and Linda had gotten married within the year. The couples had game nights together and after the first two times Jim tagged along he had declined ever since. Seeing his brothers get excited about their mates, their ability to relax completely around them, the inside jokes, and subtle communication that bordered on mind reading didn't make Jim jealous. He was lonely. He was going to live forever and despite his brothers finding their soulmates one after the other, a decade had passed and Jim hadn't found his. It was hard to admit that he spent the couple years after Tom and Pete found their mates hopefully wandering popular local spots. He wanted to find that empowering love his brothers had. He wanted it and when it didn't happen, he secluded himself. The weekly brotherly meet ups became monthly and then yearly. Jim stopped going to bars to find his someone and instead stayed for the televised games. He became a bar fly for the ease of talking to fellow sports fans and soon he acquired a real interest in sports he hadn't had when he was a human. 

Years ticked by and his niece was five and Marcy had another child, a boy this time they named Michael. Pete and Linda weren't ever planning on having any but they continued to grow as people and enjoy their lives together. Jim was still a bar fly and probably would've remained that way if it wasn't for Phyllis. She had seen Jim at the bar after having lost contact with him a couple years back. Their coven hardly ever got into the trouble Maxine had worried about and so the brothers had stopped seeing the coven regularly. If something did happen, the coven had each of their phone numbers. Phyllis was on a date with some man her age when she spotted Jim. He hadn't expected to see her there or to see anyone he knew really. It had been shocking to see the single grey hair at her hairline and it made him listen to Phyllis. 

"You should attend our group again. We miss you." She said and Jim knew she meant it and Phyllis could see he was taking it to heart. "We still meet up on Wednesday's if you want to stop by." And then she had patted his shoulder and went back to her date. Next Wednesday Jim attended the weekly Scranton Knitting Circle and reconnected with them. They had all gotten older and maybe that was part of the reason he had stopped seeing them to begin with. Everyone was getting older but he remained the same. After that meeting he had broken down outside and cried. It had been so long and his eyes hurt, his head hurt, and so did his chest. Phyllis found him again and Jim felt embarrassed until she rubbed his back. After that he couldn't close his mouth to stop spewing all his thoughts and worries at her. She stayed and kept comforting him until eventually he did shut up. Then she said like someone of their generation would, "You need a job. Forty hours a week at least."

"Most of those are during the day, Phyllis. I've been a bartender, a night receiver, a night auditor, and a janitor. They all sucked." he replied as he wiped at his wet face. 

"Well, there is this interesting piece of magic I've been thinking of trying out. I got it from our sister coven in San Francisco. It would allow you to be out in the sun like any mortal." and Jim could hear the enthusiasm in her voice. It seemed too good to be true, but that time next week, Jim had a ring on his finger and was standing outside at noon. Phyllis had explained to him before he put it on that there was price to pay for the ability to walk around in the sun. With the metal around his finger, his vision was less clear, he felt physically weaker, and his hypnotizing hardly worked. He was almost normal. With this new freedom, he took Phyllis' recommendation and applied to a few normal jobs. He worked as a newspaper deliverer, a mail carrier, and really anything that might mean he got to see the sun rise in the mornings. He attended the weekly Knitting Club meetings despite the fact he couldn't knit or do magic. At least there he didn't need to hide at all. He saw his brothers more and they had called him names for not telling them sooner about the daylight ring. Soon they all had daylight rings and Tom had a necklace made for Vanessa just in case.  
Jim had quit his job as a FedEx delivery driver on a Monday and at the Wednesday Knitting Club meeting shared this news. Tammy had never liked Jim even a little and she had ignored what he said to focus on starting a new color on the blanket she was knitting. Yes, they did actual knitting at the club. Including Jim since Tammy insisted he couldn't attend as he wouldn't knit anything and would blow their cover. Of course Jim proved her wrong and he had racked up a sizable count of scarves, mittens, and blankets. All of their creations were donated to the local shelter at the end of the year.  
"You should apply at my work. They're looking for a couple more salesmen and accountants." said Phyllis who was knitting an even bigger blanket than Tammy's. It was known in the group that Phyllis had worked at the same paper supply company as a saleswoman ever since she had decided to be coven leader. Jim had once again listened and that's when he met her.  
Pam.  
She was like a ray of real sunshine in that artificially lit office. Every time he saw her when he came into work in the mornings he could swear he felt his heart lurch. She was funny and smart and so cute. And she was taken. By Roy. Except then she wasn't, but Jim was dating Karen. He liked Karen. She was nice too and funny and entertaining to be with. He would never admit to it and had skirted around it in those long talks he had with Karen, that Pam was still a ray of real sunshine compared to Karen's florescent lights. It didn't matter anyways anymore even if Pam did feel something for him because she was dating Roy again. There was this constant feeling of unease in him ever since he had returned with the Stamford branch. Almost like he was on the edge of something.  
At least Dwight was the same. Still so easy to prank. After that whole phone ringing and hole in the wall situation with Andy, Jim was glad to have Dwight back. When Dwight had come back and remarked about the dying plants, Jim had put two and two together. Maybe he was like Michael in a sense. As much as that unnerved him. Dwight watered the plants, he arranged the toys on Michael's desk, he cleaned out the fridge and microwave, and Jim knew now that without Dwight to work next to work was boring. The pranks he pulled were an art, his creative outlet and also something he usually shared with Pam. So today, he had tried something slightly different. Thinking on his feet, he took advantage of the discovery of Jordan in the ceiling and decided to share the prank with Karen. She wasn't a bad partner in crime. It was a good prank and she definitely helped sell it.  
So while it was a good distraction from Pam and Roy, Karen enjoyed being involved, and Jim got to prank Dwight, it still felt off. He definitely needed to feed. Before that however, he needed to pick up Jordan from Cindy's son. He worked at animal control which certainly helped the coven in times like these. While Jordan was a bat, he was most definitely too smart and behaved different from other wild animals. If some other animal control person came and decided Jordan behaved a bit too odd, Jim wasn't sure how he was going to handle it. Jordan was his friend, his eternal companion even if he couldn't speak or share very complex thoughts with Jim, he was still important to him.

But Cindy's son wouldn't be able to get him until six and there was someone who wanted to talk to him where there would be no cameras. After parking next to the nondescript white van in the driveway of the well maintained colonial house, Jim made his way to the front door and knocked. He was a bit nervous about this talk. He wasn't sure how his antics that day would be received. Regardless of his worry, the door opened and he was invited inside by Cameron. They went into the living room where Mark was waiting for them as he typed something out on his laptop. When Mark looked up at Jim and smiled, he felt himself relax. 

"Come sit down." Mark gestured to the sofa opposite him. Cameron claimed he was going outside to do some gardening and left them alone. 

"Jim, you know why I wanted to talk to you." said Mark and there was a sharpness to it that had Jim on edge again. He felt his gums itching, but flashing one's fangs was rude. Instead he nodded. 

"But first, that was brilliant! Garlic bread! Crucifix! Dwight fell for it all! This is gold!" declared Mark with a toothy smile. Jim was smiling too. Mark was a co-producer and audio tech for the documentary that was being filmed at their office. When the man had first walked into the office with his mate, Cameron, wanting to speak to Michael about filming the office, Jim had been on guard. It had taken Jim no time at all to recognize they were both vampires and that they were mates not only from his own sense, but from their daylight rings which they wore as wedding bands. But what they wanted was a mystery to Jim. The couple spoke with Michael for an hour and when they left they had slipped Jim a phone number. Pam had caught the action, but Jim wasn't willing to share this with her before he investigated the vampire couple. Turned out they wanted to film the branch for their documentary on the working class. They wanted the reality of office life. Not to stomp on Jim's territory without his permission. Although if they wanted to, they probably could have won in a fight with Jim. Cameron was over 150 years old and Mark was near 300 years old, very old compared to Jim who was a generous 50 years. 

"The garlic bread was Karen's idea, but yea I know how much you like the pranks." replied Jim. Mark was a fan of Jim's pranks and usually encouraged them. However, Jim had never done one so close to home as this. Mark hadn't lived this long by making vampire jokes. The older vampire did love to feed Jim bits of advice so often. Jim not visiting the same place twice in a year and the multiple feedings a week where born from Mark's advice. More annoyingly, Mark gave Jim love advice. The man was a giant romantic and had made offhand comments before about catching Jim and Pam finally getting together on film. Jim ignored these comments. Typically, if a vampire sensed his mate, they became a couple quickly. Mark had claimed his unbearable near two year long courtship with Cameron had been due to the homophobic times. If you asked Cameron, it had to do with the fact that Mark was an arrogant ass at the time. They had met as vampires which meant they had both been able to sense that they were mates instantly. 

Jim hadn't been jealous of his brother's relationships, but Cameron and Mark meeting as vampires and knowing for certain. Jim was jealous of that. He sometimes wished that the daylight ring didn't work as well as it did and that he hadn't got drunk around Mark who had asked Jim about Pam after two months of filming the office. Jim had spilled his guts again to someone. It was the first time he admitted out loud that he was pretty certain that Pam was his soulmate. 

"Pretty?" asked Mark at the time and Jim had went on about how Pam was more than pretty, she was beautiful, she damn near made him blind with how she glowed. Mark had a funny look on his face when he said "Mates don't glow Jim, they make your heart beat and are maddening. You sound insane. You must be mates! Lucky me I'll be catching it on tape!" After that, Mark had made sure Jim had some blood to lessen the hangover, which was another helpful piece of advice, and got home. Jim tried to forget that night. Pam was engaged to Roy. Mates or not. Which they were probably not. Shouldn't she feel it too despite being human?

Jim was dating Karen. She was fun and different. He liked her. 

"So what's happened to your pet?" asked Mark. He set his laptop on the coffee table and stirred a hot cup of tea before taking a sip. It had been with Mark's guidance that Jim had been able to find a way to eat that didn't hurt. His body craved blood and eating human food usually had him feeling sluggish. Another benefit of drinking twice a week, it evened out the side effects of human food. Jim grimaced at the reminder of his eternal companion.

"I called a friend at Animal Control and he's going to get Jordan for me. I told him repeatedly he needed to lay low. Serves him right he's been chased after all day." grumbled Jim to Mark's raised eyebrow. He knew he was in a negative mood, but that was because Jordan was far from him and it stressed them both out. That was on Jordan. 

"Your sullenness has nothing to do with Pam and Roy getting together?" asked Mark who took a pointed sip of his tea. It was then that Jim knew he had no reason earlier to be worried about Mark's reaction to his vampire prank, but should've been worried Mark would ask him about Pam. Damn, that prank had really done the trick distracting him. 

"I'm with Karen. If Pam wants to date Roy, she can date Roy." replied Jim matter of factly. Mark never looked convinced when Jim said he was dating Karen. Cameron walked in from the backyard with grass stains on his knees and dirty gardening gloves. He kissed Mark on the cheek who looked adoringly at Cameron until he realized that Cameron had stolen his tea. 

"I think it's perfectly healthy for you to be dating Karen. If it hasn't happened yet with Pam, who knows if it ever will." stated Cameron. Jim liked the way Cameron was friendly with Karen. The man had led the small filming crew when they had followed Jim to the Stanford branch. Jim was certain that if Mark had been there and met Karen outside of filming he would like her more. So far he had turned down every opportunity to meet her that Cameron suggested. 

"What a load of shit! She's just not ready yet! There's some more growing she's got to do before she gets there." he said sagely before stealing back his cup of tea and finishing it in one go. The way Cameron stared at Mark's neck indicated it was probably time to leave. Jim had seen his brothers and their wives with that look before and he knew it meant he should leave before it escalated right in front of his eyes. Mates were like that, sexually insatiable.

"Alright, well, I better go! See you guys later!" with those parting words, Jim hurried out of the house. That was another thing that Jim felt concerning Pam. He craved that physically intimacy with her, even if it wasn't sexual or romantic. However, he couldn't tell if Pam felt that at all for him. He wasn't sure if it supported his feelings that she was his mate, maybe, or if it proved they weren't. Either way Pam was dating Roy and Jim was dating Karen. 

Jim pulled into the parking lot of the Scranton Recreation Center and drove over to the Animal Control truck. In no time he was reunited with Jordan who clung to his shirt. Their bond strengthened with their closeness, feeling like a rubberband that connected Jim to Jordan snapped back and relaxed. He could feel Jordan's panic calm into an apologetic content. Jim thanked Cindy's son for helping him and promised to make that casserole as a thank you. God, Jim has spent too much time with the knitting club.

"Come on, Jordan. Time for dinner." said Jim as he lightly pet Jordan's head. He could feel the sensation of approval from the tiny creature. They drove until the sun set and then a little more. All the while, Jim tried to not think how his prank on Dwight would have been better if Pam had helped him.


	2. Cocktails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pam thinks on her relationship with Roy.

After Jim left to work at the Stamford branch, Pam found herself bored. She was sure Jim was adjusting to the new town and job. Being Assistant Regional Manager on top of a moving was stressful. It had to be. She tried not to think about Jim's lack of phone calls or texts even after saying he was going to before he left. It was still so abrupt. Pam tried not to think about why she hadn't called or texted Jim. Ryan was in his spot and Pam broke off her engagement.  
Honestly, it was a shame they didn't talk. She had a million things she could tell him. Stanley had accidentally shaved off a little too much of his mustache on the one side and it was incredibly distracting. Dwight had spent a half an hour sharpening knives he had brought into work in a spare briefcase at his desk and no one had enough gall to ask him to stop. Pam herself had run out of clean work shirts and had worn a blouse that was a size or two too small and it had drawn all the wrong attention. Angela had made some comments on it, but that was only after Pam had dropped her pen near the printer and had bent over to pick it up. Michael, oh god! What hadn't Michael done? He'd distracted them nearly every day. Asking Pam to get him the phone number for Jennifer Aniston's agent and then Angelina's swearing he could solve this situation with Brad after a mascara smeared Kelly had trapped him in the break room with a magazine in her hand. If only they spoke to one another, but they didn't.  
Then Jim and the rest of the Stamford branch was joining Scranton. There were so many people and so few desks the logistics had made Pam's skin itch. Every time another employee had left she felt a bit more relieved. But every time she saw Karen it made that tension come back. She was so pretty. She was dating Jim. It made sense, they looked nice together as a couple. Pam wished them well. She still got to see Jim at work and they spoke a bit. So what if things felt off? It gave her the opportunity to spend time with other people. Phyllis had spent a lunch or two with Pam chatting about knitting. The hobby had been introduced to her when she had been little. Her grandmother had loved it and had taught Pam all she knew. Knitting was something she was a natural at claimed her grandmother, along with cooking and sports. Except, Pam knew that her grandma hadn't taught her anything to do with knitting. She had already /known/ it.

All throughout her life there were little things, moments even, that felt like she'd done them before. Like deja vu, if only it also meant that when she picked up a pair of knitting needles at age four and started knitting a blanket without the prior teaching of it counted as deja vu. She pretended it did. Because that's what she's good at. The new vow of honesty she had taken with herself wouldn't allow her to ignore this. Pretending and giving people second chances. Roy hadn't deserved a fiancee who just up and ended things. Years spent together for nothing, but that was when Pam thought Jim wanted to be with her. Karen didn't deserve what happened to Roy happen to her. Besides, Jim was hardly talking to her. 

She honestly, didn't imagine herself dating Roy after having called off their wedding. Nor did she imagine having to convince him to go drinking with her. Well, her and her coworkers, she could understand the hang up. Roy hardly knew her coworkers and that was Pam's fault she knew. Today they had a real chance though. Roy was always more relaxed with a beer in his hands. Since she was being more honest with herself, she knew going to the bar was also good for her because Jim and Dwight seemed to occupy so much of her time at the office. It was just another opportunity to focus herself on the other people in her life.

Everything was going so well. Catching up on the lives of her coworkers and playing some silly games with them. She even was honest with the bartender and corrected her order when it got screwed up. Flying so high on this new social Pam until Roy said it. 

"You can't keep anything from me."

Before she could even process what he said, the bar was gone, Roy was gone. In front of her was a teenage boy, dark hair, pale face, a piece of hay twiddling in his hand. He said the same words in that same playful, knowing tone. /You can't keep anything from me./ The sun was warm on them and a breeze blew against their hair and clothes. It struck her that her hair was straight and blonde and their clothes were far too dirty, faded, old. They were kneeling in the corn field face to face. She felt happy.

Then the guilt set in. The bar came back to her along with all the noise. Yes, they were back together, but she hasn't been completely honest with Roy. How is she supposed to keep this from him? Honest Pam couldn't. Not about the kiss and not about what this deja vu really was. Surely, he could handle knowing about the kiss and depending on how he reacted she would tell him about the dreams and the knitting and just why she kept taking dying plants off of her neighbor's hands. But then she would have to tell him about Jim and Dwight. She hasn't told anyone about Jim or Dwight. 

After that little game, Pam pulled away from the group stuck in her own head. Having never told anyone about what her "deja vu" really was meant that Pam needed some time to construct what she needed to say. Whenever she had one of these episodes she'd say "deja vu" and it became a thing in her family. Her parents called it "deja vuing" and Penny said she was communicating with the mother ship. Roy called it both depending on what mood he was in. The sense that something had happened before stuck in her brain like an itch she can't scratch. But it wasn't deja vu. Not since she started working at Dunder Mifflin. 

Well, that's not right, it was when Dwight got back from his week long trip doing sales with Packer that the deja vu no longer itched. See when she had started working for Dunder Mifflin she had started working there the day Dwight had left. Everyone in the office had spoken to her during that week Dwight was gone. They mentioned him, mentioned that they were glad he was gone, but had pity for him having to spend time with Packer. The next monday, Pam had come into work at her newly established "regular" time which was before the rest of the office excluding Michael who seemed to live there. She had always been an early riser. Except, it wasn't just her and Michael in the office. She had first confused Dwight with a client because he was in Michael's office when she came into work. A few minutes after she had settled in, the client had left Michael's office and went right to the desk that had been empty for her first week of work. She knew this must be Dwight and had said so when she went over to introduce herself. All he had done in return was look her up and down then say, "I hope you can read. Our last Receptionist always got 3's and 8's mixed up." Put off by his words, Pam had wished him a good day and walked back to her desk. It was then that she knew she would never tell anyone she thought he was kinda cute. The day passed by as normal and she only mixed up the sales lines once, but fixed it before anyone could say anything. After lunch she was leaving the women's bathroom when she bumped into Dwight. He caught her arm just below her sleeve so she wouldn't fall. 

"Watch your feet." he said to her. But Pam was having the worst deja vu in her life at that moment. That sense to scratch at her brain until she remembered exactly what it was that was so familiar to her in that moment, grew and grew. She was paralyzed and her eyes watered and before she could say anything, breath even. It stopped. The office was gone and Dwight was replaced with some older man. He had said the same thing as Dwight, just more gruff. The crow's feet by his smiling eyes, the beard, and the pipe in his stern mouth. /Father/ He let her arm go. She blinked. Dwight and the office were back. Her whole being felt slightly askew still. With a muttered thanks she went back to work. 

But it happened again. Months later a coworker named Haley was sharing the different cakes she had gotten to taste test with the rest of the office. Pam reached around Dwight to grab a slice of carrot cake when he had decided to also grab a slice of angel cake. The table became bigger, wooden and sturdy. The food on the table was cookies instead. She was standing and had her arm bumped against by the man sat next to her. He looked up at her in shock and she felt herself smile at him. She blinked. Dwight was looking at her in confusion and Pam was just smiling like she had been in that, that, whatever it was had been. A vision. A daydream. Wearing a cardigan at work was probably for the best.

She still had a few deja vu moments, but they itched so bad. If she was a more vocal person who didn't care at all what people thought of her sanity she would have allowed herself to scream at the intensity. A good night's rest usually made it go away though. Or if she touched Dwight's skin. She found this out after getting another intense deja vu from seeing Kevin devour several corn on the cob in the break room. She had been handing some copies of the new sales forms out to the entire team with a grimace from her headache when she touched Dwight's hand on accident. The room went away again and she was inside some older house. All wood. Before her was a very fat man eating corn like he was starving. /Uncle/ She looked to her right to the man at the head of the table to see his reaction./Father/ He was also eating corn like he was starving. Looking to her immediate right to see a boy around her age. /Brother/ He had a cob in his hands and seemed to be contemplating it before taking a hesitant bite. So she looked down at her own plate of only corn and picked it up. She blinked. The office was back. Her headache is gone. She finished handing out the papers with a smile.

This was all small stuff. Roy proposing had been big stuff. Sharing a kiss with Jim had been big stuff. But it still was something she had to deal with. She should share it with Roy. So she started it off calm, reasonable. She was being honest Pam. They needed to talk about this. Really, she should've known how Roy would react. Roy who had punched her friend for putting his arm around her shoulders and carrying her books back in Junior year when she had been sick. There was no way she was going to ever tell him about her visions.


	3. The Negotiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dwight defends the office and all its aftermath.

To properly end one's work day at the office they needed to shut down their computer. A necessary step to ensure the software was as up to date as possible. Dwight was following this protocol and decided checking his papers for the day for any typos would be a good use of his time. He ignored the inane chatter of his coworkers about their evening's plans. A warm meal and checking up on all the livestock where in his future. He trusted Mose to see to the animals, but it was always smart to see the animals with his own eyes. No one needed another constipated horse.  
"You're like agoraphobic." said Karen Filippelli to Jim. The conversation wasn't his to insert himself into, but he did feel the need to correct Karen on her inaccurate use of "agoraphobic". His aunt had been housebound from the age of thirty ever since his married in uncle had died from a car accident. That was agoraphobic. Dwight was almost done with his small task of typo searching when someone yelled.  
"Hey, Halpert!" roared Roy. For that's exactly how an aggressive male would sound. It put Dwight on edge. Thinking fast he grabbed his pepper spray. He knew he could rely on this can as he had replaced it last month. Dwight kept his eyes on Roy like he would with any threat in the office. He caught Roy's look to Pam behind reception before the man rushed Jim. Quick like lightning, he was in the perfect stance with his arm outstretched. He was a bit surprised at Jim's instincts to move Karen out of the way of Roy. The attacker went down without injuring himself or others.  
In control of the situation he said, "Pam, please call security." His eyes were watering from the spray now having traveled in the air. It was a natural reaction. Roy was definitely in a world of pain as he groaned on the floor. At reception Pam was wiping her eyes with a tissue and clearly not contacting anyone to handle Roy. Rapidly blinking his eyes, he walked over to reception so that he could make the call himself.  
"Go rinse your face with milk from the fridge." he told her. She nodded and carefully stood from her chair. Since her eyes where still covered with the tissue, she felt around the office and slowly made her way to the breakroom. Dwight repeated the altercation that occurred for the police and they informed him an officer would be with them.

Looking around he was glad to note that Angela had already left the office.

The family curse passed down from Schrude to Scrute ever since his great-great-great grandfather was cursed by some woman. Clearly, she wasn't as good at casting curses as she wanted Elder Schrude to believe since not every male descendant was cursed. As far as curses went the Schrude Curse was pretty benign. It was the precursors to the final aspect of the curse that were bothersome. First, every crop the cursed person touched would wither and die for a period of three summers. Secondly, bad luck was to haunt him in three's. Third and last was the benign part of the curse. To be cuckolded by another man. Anyone Dwight dated would end up cheating on him with another man who would rival his own prowess. There was no known way to end the curse. One could only endure it.

No one knew for certain how the curse was triggered just that it occasionally sprung up in the Schrude line. Dwight was certain though. Ever since Jim had been hired as a Sales Rep, Dwight had been cursed. Jim had been introduced by Michael to the whole office and given the desk next to Dwight. This wasn't a surprise to him since they had pulled the desk from the Annex where they kept an addition four desks for potential hires in the future. Jim asked a few questions and Dwight answered them professionally as he always did. At lunch his girlfriend at the time, Edith Bruegger, canceled their plans for that night saying she had to help birth a sheep. This suited him just fine since he needed to tend to his beets. Edith came from a long line of brussel sprout farmers and didn't know what to do with beets other than eat them. She also ignored Mose most of the time which was quite rude. Before leaving work, he had to have his car jumped by three different people since it kept dying. When he finally got home he was glad to have some manual labor to work out his frustration. He stood back to admire his growing field and noticed that the leaves were all drooping. So he watered them some more and left them to it. Mose woke him up and it was well past sunrise. Late for the farm yet still early to make it to work. He ignored Mose's mute attempts to communicate with him and rushed getting ready. As he walked out to his car which he hoped was going to work for him this time, he dropped his coffee mug. The field! It had all dried up during the night! It made absolutely no sense when he examined the crops and knew for a fact it wasn't some farming error. His crops had withered and died. Mose was still trying to mime to him. Three fingers he held up in front of Dwight's face. Three. He knew he was cursed then and so instead of still arriving to work early, Dwight took a detour to his girlfriend's house. The small cabin she lived in was on Bruegger land and the opposite way to work. She had canceled their plans for the first time in their six months of dating. Not thinking too hard on what he might find, Dwight walked up the steps to her cabin silently. She shouldn't even be in it at this hour. The sheep would need tending. With a shaking hand, he opened the door and crept in. There in her bedroom he saw her asleep still. A man was also asleep next to her. He turned away from them and left. Ever since, Dwight had ignored her attempts at conversation. He had given up dating. What he felt for Edith wasn't love, but there had been trust between them. It was gone now and Dwight wasn't sure why the Schrude Curse had affected him then. Not until he came into work later than usual and spotted Jim talking with Pam at reception. Jim. He had been the only change to Dwight's life in the past year.

So logically, Dwight blamed the beginning of his curse on Jim. Why was Jim the trigger? Dwight only had speculations. He watched him closely for the first couple of months and learned quite a few things about Jim. Performance wise they were very similar. Despite Jim not having nearly as many contacts as Dwight had at the time, he had statistically the same amount of sales that Dwight did when he first started. Objectively, they were of a similar age and after asking potential mates around the office it became clear that Jim was desirable to them. Sure he was tall and aesthetically attractive, but Dwight didn't really see it. He had little strength, his hair was unkempt, and he always lounged around rather than maintain a healthy posture. Not to mention that for some reason Michael would ask Jim's opinions on decisions before Dwight. He was able to swiftly bring Michael's attention to him thought so it was a nonissue. At the end of his comparison, Dwight came to the conclusion that Jim was a worthy competitor in the workplace not only in terms of sales, but also women. The curse must have been triggered because Dwight had finally met his match. Not that it made much sense. Jim hadn't been the man he found in Edith's bed. Unless he had gained a pot belly and dyed his hair blonde. 

With this knowledge, Dwight applied himself even more. During that first year, Jim had gotten Employee of the Month several times. Coming up with a basic sales attack plan was a no-brainer after that. Being more efficient in calls meant he could spend more time with Michael and get noticed for his work. The more his boss liked him the more accolades he would receive and eventually get what he had desired since he first started working at Dunder Mifflin. To one day take up Michael's position as Manager. He applied himself at work and somewhere down the line he started to talk to Angela. They never spoke to one another around their coworkers. Only stolen moments in the break room or on the walk out of the office and to their cars. She was tiny and strict. No like Edith at all. Her Christian cross shining brightly not matter the lighting. There was no way that Angela would cheat on a lover. He even asked her what views she held on the matter before they shared a first kiss. It had been wonderful and passionate. 

Things are going so well between them. Today didn't give them much chance to talk as Dwight had work due to it being a Monday. She had asked after the incident and Dwight had been just as accurate in his retelling with her as he was with Toby. All day Jim had been up to something he could just tell. Thanking him and asking if there was anything he could do for him. Dwight had turned it all down including that glaringly obvious decoy present. If Jim was actually a vampire of some sort, Dwight would never accept any gifts from him. This includes inviting Jim into his house. He had to protect Mose. 

Roy came into the office escorted by a police man to pick up his last check. Dwight could see the look of fear in Angela's eyes as she handed the check over to him. Oscar stood next to her acting as a buffer. Sometimes Dwight truly hated their secrecy. It should be him next to her. As her protector and lover he would ensure she felt safe. He was thinking of gifting her a can of pepper spray just in case he wasn't able to be around. Briefly he wondered why she was the one to hand it over when Oscar could have just as easily done so. Either way, Roy left the office without another incident. Everyone was able to go back to work uninterrupted. Dwight did have a problem with pens that day. Three of them broke before he tried the fourth one. Just another part of his curse. He knew it could be worse. Imagine having your toes as fingers like the Bruegger Curse.

At the end of the work day, Angela had obtained the H.R. file of his actions and they shared another passionate kiss. The camera crew had left and so they walked out of the building holding hands. Just as Angela had suggested they spent the evening reading the reports and making love. Mose knew how to take care of the crops by himself ever since Dwight's curse started. All three of them sat around the dining room table enjoying a hearty stew for dinner. Unlike Edith, Angela asked Mose about his day and he was able to muster up some words for her. He had come along way these past couple of years. Tending to your own crops did alot for a man's self-confidence.

The next day, Andy Bernard came back into the office. As far as Dwight knew he wasn't supposed to be back for another week. It had been purely reactionary as he took down the known to be aggressive male with his pepper spray. They still had the big fan out from last Friday's incident to air the room. Michael always griped about Toby and how idiotic he could be. Dwight truly believed his words when the H.R. Rep took all of his weapons from the office. Well, the ones that would be easy to come across.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm finally writing a fanfic and publishing it and its this. I got a plot bunny for Vampire!Jim after watching episode 3.16/17 Business School. I tried to imagine the logistics of him being a vampire while also being canon enough for that episode to happen still. Pretty much canon until after that episode where I've got some ideas for the plots to go.


End file.
